Rufus Wheeler PECKHAM

1809-1873

PECKHAM, Rufus Wheeler, a Representative from New York; was born in Rensselaerville, Albany County, N.Y., on December 20, 1809; completed preparatory studies; was graduated from Union College at Schenectady, N.Y., in 1827; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1830 and commenced practice in Albany, N.Y.; district attorney of Albany County 1838-1841; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-third Congress (March 4, 1853-March 3, 1855); chairman, Committee on Revolutionary Claims (Thirty-third Congress); resumed the practice of law; justice of the supreme court for the third judicial district and served from 1861 to 1869; associate judge of the court of appeals from May 17, 1870, until his death; lost at sea November 22, 1873, in a collision between two steamers in mid-ocean.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present